Nosce te Ipsum (Know Thyself)

This is a huge topic and one that I am not going to try and answer just put some words down. The reason I thought about penning some words about this topic comes from a statement made on the ABC Radio Nation podcast (broadcast) of The Philosophers Zone titled “Beginning Philosophy Right Here Right Now“. In particular one statement that caught my ear. I have always been a believer in the importance of a person knowing them self. Having an understanding of yourself and your place in the world because it is through this understanding that we find purpose and reason, we find belief faith if you will. The statement that caught my attention is similar in vain but puts things in a lot clearer and more elegant then my attempt. The statement or quote I suppose was “With self knowledge comes self confidence”.

There are certain things in life that one just can not change and what comes to mind when thinking about that statement is the famous Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference

For me understanding that I am tall and that there is nothing I can do to change that, is self knowledge. It is through this self knowledge that I gain confidence in myself. It is with this confidence that I head out into the world, it is this confidence that I project to people. Yes I am tall, that is who I am.

Through self knowledge we gain self confidence and in a way the oppisite is also true. That through self confidence we gain self knowledge.

I think more needs to go in the post, but will save it for another entry.